news

White House sidewalk permanently closed to public

Tourists visit the south side of the White House in Washington, DC. The Secret Service said that the south sidewalk will be off-limits to tourists from now on.

By
Bob D’Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Tourists who have viewed the White House from the south sidewalk will no longer have access, the U.S. Secret Service announced. The sidewalk had been closed nightly from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. since 2015, the Huffington Post reported.

The sidewalk now will be off-limits around the clock, which will “lessen the possibility of individuals illegally accessing the White House grounds,” Secret Service communications director Cathy Milhoan said in a statement.

On March 10, a man jumped a fence east of the White House at night and was on the property’s grounds for 16 minutes before being detained. He never entered the White House, the Secret Service said.

President Donald Trump was inside the residence at the time.

The same restrictions are in place on the north fence of the White House grounds, according to the Secret Service.

There are no comments yet. Be the first to post your thoughts.
Sign in or Register.